The present invention relates to a liquid discharge assembly including a quick-connect coupling for opening a valve. Quick-connect couplings of this type are known, for example, in house and garden applications and serve to connect hoses and the like. In many fields of application such quick-connect couplings cannot be used because they do not satisfy the high performance standards required, for instance, for tanks containing hot media or aggressive media.
Threaded connections for oil discharge are provided, for example, on internal combustion engines or on an oil filter mounted to an internal combustion engine. To drain the oil from the tank or the filter, these threaded connections must be unscrewed to unblock an opening. In some cases, oil is also drained from the filter by unscrewing the cover of the filter housing.
A drawback of these systems is that the oil is discharged in an undefined manner and there is an undesirable risk of spillage and consequent environmental contamination.
It is an object of the invention is to provide a liquid discharge assembly including a new quick-connect coupling for opening a valve.
Another object of the invention is to provide a liquid discharge assembly including a quick-connect coupling facilitates reliable actuation of a valve.
A further object of the invention is to provide a liquid discharge assembly including a quick-connect coupling which is capable of withstanding high thermal stress or other adverse conditions.
These and other objects are achieved in accordance with the present invention by providing a liquid discharge assembly including a quick-connect coupling for opening a discharge valve positioned in a liquid discharge, wherein said coupling comprises at least one latching element which snaps into the discharge valve to open the valve when the coupling is applied to the liquid discharge, and wherein said quick-connect coupling is connected with a discharge hose.
The invention thus provides a liquid discharge in which discharged liquid is guided directly into a hose. To this end, a valve is provided on a container for the liquid, for instance, an oil pan or an oil filter, which is suspended from an internal combustion engine. This valve seals a discharge opening. The required seating thrust is applied by a pressure spring. To open the valve, a quick-connect coupling is snapped on.
The advantage of the invention is that the liquid can be discharged from the container or the filter without any risk of spillage or environmental contamination.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention, a snap-connection mechanism is arranged on the quick-connect coupling. This snap-connection mechanism comprises a rocker arm, which latchingly interacts with suitable detent or locking elements of the valve. This latching engagement prevents any unintentional detachment of the quick-connect coupling.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of the invention, the valve comprises a valve plate and a pressure spring, which assures a reliable seal between the valve plate and a valve seat. The pressure of the liquid inside the tank or the filter produces additional seating thrust to prevent any unintentional opening of the valve during operation.
In accordance with a further embodiment, a pressure control valve is provided in the container to limit the pressure.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the invention, the pressure control valve and the discharge valve are operatively linked in that the support for the pressure control valve simultaneously forms the mounting for the discharge valve. This creates a compact unit of pressure control valve and discharge valve. This unit can be adapted to the liquid container or the filter housing.
These and other features of preferred embodiments of the invention, in addition to being set forth in the claims, are also disclosed in the specification and/or the drawings, and the individual features each may be implemented in embodiments of the invention either alone or in the form of subcombinations of two or more features and can be applied to other fields of use and may constitute advantageous, separately protectable constructions for which protection is also claimed.